Air Force, Navy end unusual week on football field

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Air Force and Navy will meet on the football field Saturday after an unusual week of preparation that saw emotions swing from disappointment to elation.

After the government shutdown put the game in jeopardy, a sellout crowd is expected to watch the first leg of the round-robin competition for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which Navy (2-1) reclaimed from Air Force (1-4) last year. The Midshipmen were outright winners of the trophy for seven straight seasons before losing it to the Falcons in 2010 and 2011.

Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk got the "last-minute reprieve" he was hoping would allow the service academy games to be played.

He had said if the Air Force-Navy game were to be cancelled that the emotional and financial toll it would take "would be incalculable."